Today, needlework in a variety of techniques and manifestations is again in vogue. Everyone can afford this hobby, and it's so nice to create beautiful things with your own hands, literally "out of nothing". One of the original hobbies for children and adults - molding from clay. What materials will be needed for such creativity and where to start? Especially for you - a detailed master-class in our article.
We go in search of clay
Pottery is one of the oldest in the world. Tableware and decorative products made of clay were known to mankind at the dawn of the birth of civilizations. How do you begin to get acquainted with this ancient technique? You will need the main material - clay, the easiest way to buy it in the store of goods for creativity. Some home masters also try to sculpt from a cosmetic powder bought in a pharmacy. Another option - clay, mined by own hands. For this, it is not at all necessary to go to the quarry, in many regions of Russia you can find places where the material we need lies directly under the soil layer. Attention: clay is oily, medium and lean - depending on the amount and nature of the impurities. To check if the chosen piece is suitable for modeling, it's easy: just try to mash it in your hands and roll the sausage. If the material does not stick to your hands and does not crack - you can start making crafts.
Basic rules of working with material
Today, the whole country is opening courses for molding from clay, and this is no accident. To work with this material is really somewhat more complicated than with plasticine or salt test. First of all, the clay must be diluted to a plastic consistency. If you have a powder - just add water and mix. A bit more complicated is the case with lumpy clay. In this case, the material should be filled with liquid for a while. Then drain the water and knead it. If you do not manage to use up the whole prepared piece at a time, just put it in a plastic bag or wrap it around with a wet cloth. It is believed that with prolonged storage clay can mold - so try to mow it at least once a day, if you plan to use the mass for modeling in a couple of days.
Simple crafts: where to start?
The modeling of clay for beginners involves the production of simple figures. Separate a piece of suitable size from the whole prepared mass. Remember it in your hands - your fingers should get used to the texture and density of the material. Next, you have to turn a piece of mass into some kind of figure. What exactly is dazzling? Experienced craftsmen modeling from clay advise newcomers to represent any images and forms that first come to mind. And most importantly - do not be afraid: one of the merits of the material is that before finishing the product you can always do everything. Try to make some simple animal or even a human figure.
Interesting techniques
Clay modeling is an interesting kind of craft that allows you to create a variety of things. So, the easiest way is to pull out shapes that are complex in shape from one piece of material. But to sculpt something from individual pieces of clay is a bit more complicated. To bond the parts you will need special glue. To make it very simple: prepare a liquid clay solution with water. Before you glue one element to another, lubricate the resultant soot with the intended connection site. The same solution can smooth the cracks that sometimes appear when the material dries. Molding from clay is a very creative process. Try decorating your crafts with "carving", using special tools or any improvised devices - for example, thin sticks or empty rods from handles. An interesting technique - to impart clay texture to stamps, try also to roll out a layer on a piece of relief fabric. From the selected material, you can make and another kind of crafts using special forms. They pour clay, diluted to a liquid state, and leave for a couple of days. After that, the figure is taken out, if necessary, all the irregularities are smoothed out and left to dry in the air further.
Interesting ideas
Using clay, you can make casts from ready-made toys and souvenirs made of hard materials. To make such crafts is very simple. Wrap the figure, with which we will make an impression, a food film. Roll the clay with a rolling pin and gently coat the prepared form. Wait until the clay dries a little (not more than a day), then gently remove it from the base. Leave the figure to dry and treat further in the usual way. Molding from clay (for children, you can pick up a few handicrafts easier) - this is not only the creation of bulk products. It is quite possible to do impressions. Roll out the material not too thinly. Then ask the young sculptor to leave on the surface fingerprints of his fingers or squeeze out the whole picture. Impressions can also be made with stamps or simply beautiful molds, jars.
How do I process the product?
The real masters of the pottery case burn their products in special ovens. Of course, such equipment is not enough for anyone at home. But you can always burn clay at the stake. Just make sure that the fire is not too strong, otherwise your crafts can crack. Molding from clay is a fascinating activity, but requiring patience. It is not enough to fashion a figure, the products must go through several stages of processing. After complete drying of the crafts, they must be carefully sanded, smoothing all the shortcomings. Then the products are burned or covered with several layers of colorless varnish. Sculptures made of clay can be painted with colors. Remember that unbaked products are fragile enough. After firing, the figures become more durable, but they are still not recommended to drop and expose to aggressive mechanical influences.
For the first samples in pottery, you can always purchase a ready-made kit for molding from the clay of factory production. In it there are not only all the necessary materials and tools, but also detailed instructions for making crafts and a step-by-step guide for each action.